1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a actuating device for an open/close member of a vehicle.
2. Related Art
In a conventional actuating device for an open/close member of a vehicle, on each of vehicle pillars formed at both sides of an opening in a back part of a vehicle body which is adapted to be opened or closed by a rear gate which is pivotally mounted to a back end part of a vehicle roof by means of a substantially horizontal hinge shaft, there are provided a guide rail which is fixed to the vehicle body pillar in such a posture as inclined toward a center of the opening, a rack which is guided by the guide rail in a vertical direction, that is, in a longitudinal direction of the guide rail, a motor unit for moving the rack in the vertical direction, and a connecting rod extending in a vertical direction which is connected at its upper end to the rear gate by means of a universal joint, and connected at its lower end to the rack by means of a universal joint. The rack is moved in the vertical direction along the longitudinal direction of the guide rail thereby to displace the rear gate from a closed position to an open position or from the open position to the closed position (See Japanese Patent Application No. JP-A-2001-253241, for example).
In the actuating device for the open/close member of the vehicle as described above, the opening formed in the back part of the vehicle is generally in a trapezoidal shape. For this reason, it has been necessary to arrange the guide rail for guiding the connecting rod at such a position that it may protrude from the vehicle pillar toward the opening to a large extent, so that a part of the connecting rod may not interfere with a side edge of the vehicle pillar which defines the opening, on occasion of moving the connecting rod for displacing the rear gate to the open position. In case where the guide rail has been arranged in this manner, the guide rail will protrude from the vehicle body pillar toward the opening to a large extent, when the rear gate is opened, which results in a problem that an appearance of the vehicle may be deteriorated and an opening width of the opening may be made narrow.